Miami-Dade County set its annual budget late Thursday night. According to the Miami Herald's Doug Hanks, county commissioners argued over whether it was worth spending $100,000 to revive the county's Civilian Investigative Panel, which employs civilians to investigate complaints against police. Many law enforcement scholars agree civilian-led panels provide an essential check on police power.

But as protesters marched through Charlotte, North Carolina, demanding greater police accountability Thursday, the commissioners ultimately decided a scant $100,000 was too much to spend to revive the panel. The county's entire budget totals more than $7 billion.

Now seems to be a good time to remind Miami citizens that multiple city governments across the county green-lighted expensive police-spending proposals this summer. Those projects are far more controversial than the Civilian Investigative Panel. Here are five examples:

Miami-Dade Police say officers had to fire after the teen pulled a gun.

Jerry Iannelli is Miami New Times’ daily-news reporter. He graduated with honors from Temple University in Philadelphia, where he developed a reputation for pestering college officials until they cursed at him. He then earned his master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. He moved to South Florida in 2015.